Paul Croft

Paul Croft trained in Fine Art, specialising in drawing, painting and printmaking. Since he qualified as Master Printer from the world-renowned Tamarind Institute of Lithography in 1996, his research and practice as an artist, printmaker and collaborating printer has culminated in the publication of two books on Stone Lithography and Plate Lithography (UK: A&C Black, 2001 & 2003; USA: Watson-Guptill, 2003; China: JML Fine Art Press, 2003). In 2007 he curated Stone-Plate-Grease-Water, an exhibition of international contemporary lithography, an AHRC-funded research project that has made a significant contribution to the understanding of the nature and diversity of current lithographic practice. The show included 90 prints by 64 artists from the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, Argentina and Jordan, and was accompanied by a catalogue and website (http://www.paulcroft.org/spgw.html).

As an Associate Fellow (2005) and Fellow (2007) of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, and Chairman of Aberystwyth Printmakers, Croft has formed an international network of artists, print workshops and educational institutions with the aim of increasing the profile of lithography and attracting collaborating artists to the School of Art. Recent print collaborations have included David Tress, Shani Rhys James, and Stuart Pearson Wright. Croft has contributed several articles to Printmaking Today and his work appears in several books on printmaking, including Tamarind 40 Years (UNM, 2000), Collecting Original Prints (A&C Black, 2005), Printmakers Secrets (A&C Black, 2009),and Contemporary Printmaking (LKP, 2009). Recent exhibitions include Contemporary Welsh Printmakers (Lahore and Karachi, 2007), The Prints of Wales (Kansas, 2007), and two international portfolio exchanges at The Southern Graphic Conference in Richmond, USA (2008). In 2008 he was invited by Gregynog Press to illustrate Welsh Times celebrating the work of author Emyr Humphreys. Teaching and research supervision covers Fine Art (printmaking) and Art History (history of lithography).